Culture Connect: Castrillo@50 contest now open

Samsung and the Yuchengco Museum recently launched Culture Connect: Castrillo@50, an Instagram contest that aims to not only commemorate the works of the late sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, but also inspire Filipinos to embrace patriotism and express it on social media. 

“Our collective love and passion for the Philippines and fellow countrymen are what keep us unified. Aside from encouraging Filipinos to appreciate art, this contest also aims to provide an avenue for them to celebrate Philippine history and culture with the technology we have today,” said Arlita Tayko-Narag, head of corporate citizenship at Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp.

“We hope that, by doing [this], we reinforce our countrymen’s nationalism, as being a Filipino is something to be proud of,” she added.

To celebrate Castrillo’s 50th year as a professional artist, Culture Connect is featuring his works this year. Known as a renowned monument-maker, Castrillo had produced historical and religious monuments, including the Andres Bonifacio monument near Manila City Hall and the Spirit of Edsa (Epifanio de los Santos Ave.) monument at the Yuchengco Museum, and abstract environmental works.

“Castrillo’s monuments, including Binhi ng mga Bayani [Seed of Heroes] in Rizal Park and [the] People Power [Monument on] Edsa, are cultural-heritage pieces of our country. Commemorating some of the turning points in Philippine history, these monuments have become testimony to Castrillo’s passion for excellence in form, technique and spirit,” said Jeannie Javelosa, curator at the Yuchengco Museum.

In line with August as Buwan ng Wika (National Language Month) and Castrillo’s 50th anniversary as an artist, the Instagram contest will run for the entire month.

Join the contest by posting a photo of any of the select public art monuments on Instagram, and expressing what it means to you as a Filipino. Use the tag @CastrilloCultureConnect and hashtags #SamsungCultureConnect and #Castrillo50.

Up to three entries per person may be submitted under the professional or open category. First-place winners in each category get a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone and Gear VR headset. The winning contest photos will be featured on the Culture Explorer app.

The winning entries will be announced online on Sept. 13, and awarded on Oct. 13.

For more information visit www.eduardocastrillo.com or follow @CastrilloCultureConnect on Instagram.